The pound has perked up over the past few days, rising around 3% against the US dollar and 1% against the euro.
The positivity comes amid suggestions that there could be a breakthrough imminent in UK-EU negotiations, that coronavirus is being seen off and that the recession might be less deep than many have assumed. There is also an idea that no-deal could be priced in to the value of the pound now.
There were a lot of coulds and mights in that paragraph. The other point of view is that if something looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck; and the signs for sterling over the summer look at least as bad as the past three summers when it weakened to well below where we are now.
But there certainly is good news out there, especially re “air bridges” to our favourite holiday destinations such as Spain, Greece and the Algarve. It really all comes down to aviation now as so many economies and businesses depend on getting people travelling.
We’ve also heard that Rightmove – we are their currency partner – had its busiest day last week, with 18% more searches than the same day a year before.
Many people have clearly been using the lockdown to make plans. At Smart we gave our staff a challenge to get as many steps in as possible, with prizes for teams than can walk to John O’Groats (virtually, of course) by the end of June. Walking to the Dordogne might have been more appropriate but we want to stick with the quarantine rules even in our virtual world.
As well as the health benefits, the fringe benefit of this has been astonishing creativity in new business ideas. You really can’t beat a good walk for getting the creative juices flowing. We have a team putting the best ideas into effect. The end of the lockdown will see a real surge in better ways of doing business, across the globe.
If you’ve been busy making plans, our traders are at the end of the phone ready to help you put them into effect. Just call us on 020 8108 5337.
And as sterling faces an uphill climb and strong headwinds this summer, do talk to us about locking in today’s elevated rate with a forward contract.
